Middleton: 'Pregnant lady had to sleep on the floor in A&E'
An expectant mother had to sleep on the floor in the Altnagelvin A&E on Monday evening, Julie Middleton told MLAs at Stormont this week.
The local DUP MLA said people facing mental health crises also regularly have to walk through the Derry emergency room in order to access care.
"It is often - more than often - incredibly busy. For example, last night, a pregnant lady had to sleep on the floor, which is not ideal and certainly not what any of us wants. If and when funding is sourced, will that situation be mitigated?” asked the Foyle MLA on Tuesday.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt agreed that EDs are the last places that patients with mental health issues should have to go to and wait in when they are facing a crisis.
He suggested a specialist mental health hub at the Mater Hospital in Belfast might provide a model for other hospitals.
“It has PATH, a psychiatric assessment and treatment hub, which is a separate room on the first floor that is designed to be an alternative place for mental health patients to go to avoid the ED.
"The hospital wants to expand that provision, and I would love to see it expanded around all the acute hospitals. I cannot give you the detail on that, but, in my mind, that is the ideal direction of travel,” said the minister.
The PATH unit at the Mater in Belfast provides a safe space for adults who are experiencing acute psychiatric crises.